White Paw
by pretty moon kitty
Summary: Based on the faerie tale Blue Beard


***This story is a spin off of the classic, jacked up fairy tale "Blue Beard." I used one of my old fairy tale books as somewhat of a guideline.  
  
I have no idea who first came up with "Blue Beard," but I have seen the story printed in many different children's storybooks (don't ask me why... having this bedtime story read to me as a child was like nowadays watching the "Exorcist" to lull me to sleep).  
  
I'm rating this story PG-13; although, I think it is a lot less disturbing than the original "Blue Beard" story. Anyways, I hope you are somewhat entertained by it.***  
  
-White Paw-  
  
Once upon a time there was a white cat named Artemis. He was a rich and powerful cat, the wealthiest his town Sakana had ever known. He was fortunate in every aspect of his life, except for women.  
  
Artemis loved women and no one in town could figure out why. There were plenty of fine quality cats Artemis could choose from for his wife, but alas, he turned away every suggestion of even meeting one. The only females Artemis liked were the kind walking on two, furless legs. All cats were banned from his estate (including the male ones, for Artemis was devastatingly handsome for a cat, and no right swinging cat was free from romantic fantasies about him).  
  
Unfortunately for Artemis, his admirers were limited to the feline world. No human woman in town would have him. Not only did the fact that Artemis was a cat turn the ladies off, but he was said to have been married several times before. No one had ever seen any of these women Artemis had been supposedly married to, but the rumor was there all the same.  
  
In one of the nearby manors, five women resided with a large personal staff. Their father had made a small fortune manufacturing luxury sailing boats. He had often taken his daughters out to sea with him, and turned his love of boating into a family passion that lasted even after his death. The legacy his girls inherited from him afforded them all financial security with many boating trips each year. Their love for sailing coupled with their last name, Scout, achieved the girls the nickname "Sailor Scouts." They were the most beautiful women in town, and being so famous for their charm, good looks and family name, Artemis made it a point to send weekly gifts their way. He invited these "Sailor Scouts" to every social gathering he held, and private parties which they always declined.  
  
After many meetings at the larger gatherings, however, Artemis tried convincing them to join him and a few of his human associates to go on a week's vacation at his second home in a nearby beach town. Artemis was growing quite fond of one Sailor Scout in particular and was determined to convince the girls to attend this time.  
  
There was much polite debating over the invitation, but the girls reluctantly agreed to go after providing one condition Artemis had to oblige to. Usagi, one of the Sailor Scouts, was to bring along her beloved cat Luna. Artemis was dead set against the idea at first, but desperately wanted time away with the Sailor Scout Minako, so he reluctantly agreed to the term.  
  
Plans were made and soon enough everyone (including Usagi's cat) was at the beach house having a gay time. Nothing was thought of but games, dances, building sandcastles, and grand dinners. No one had a formal night's rest the entire trip; too much fun was being had in the sand and on the dance floor. By the end of the week's events, Minako and the other Scouts started to warm up to Artemis. He didn't seem like such a prick of a cat after all.  
  
Before dropping the girls off at their manor, Artemis proposed marriage to Minako. After all the girls laughter subsided and they realized the scowling cat was serious, they turned their nervous gazes to Mina.  
  
Artemis refused to let the girls return home without an answer, so in a light, jolly tone left over from the trip, Mina gave Artemis a positively facetious answer that thoroughly delighted him.  
  
Artemis quickly worked on turning Minako's sarcasm into a true acceptance of his proposal and within a day, they were married.  
  
It hadn't been long since the wedding when Artemis informed his new wife of a business trip he had to leave on. He would be away from home for at least six weeks due to the extremely important nature of business he had to attend to. He begged her to amuse herself in every way possible while he would be absent. He presented her with the latest model vibrator and told her she could do whatever she pleased while he was away. He suggested inviting her sisters over and told her to indulge in the finest entertainments and cuisine his money would provide.  
  
He left her keys to all the rooms and storage chests in the estate; he even had all the keys labeled for her so she could easily figure out which key went to what lock. Before Artemis left, however, he warned Mina about one of the keys, "This small key here, it is for the closet down that narrow hallway on the ground floor. Whatever you do, do not go in that closet. This is my only request of you, and if you do not obey, you will have nothing to fear but my anger!"  
  
Minako assured her husband that she would respect his wishes and then bid him a pleasant journey.  
  
The other four Scouts didn't wait for an invitation to come visit. As soon as Artemis left, they all dashed over to the manor to discover all the treasures Artemis had throughout his home. At all the large parties they attended before at the manor, they were dazzled by his fine art collections and other riches, but they never ventured outside the rooms of the party. Now they could finally see all the fantastic riches Artemis had stored away from the public eye.  
  
Minako ran about the living quarters with her the other Scouts and searched through many rooms and closets discovering a multitude of marvelous possessions along the way. Mina hardly took notice of these riches though, her mind was stuck on Artemis' freaky request. She was becoming obsessed with finding out what was in the forbidden closet. At last Mina couldn't take it anymore and she sprinted to where the off-limits closet resided.  
  
Mina reached the closet door in no time and shuffled around until she found the right key to open it. Without hesitation she opened the door and stepped inside.  
  
At first she could see nothing through the darkness, but soon her eyes adjusted and she found herself standing on a floor covered in blood. To her greater horror, Minako saw, reflecting in the blood, bodies of several women hanging on the walls. The terrified woman nearly passed out with fright and happened to drop the key she had removed from the lock on the closet door.  
  
After regaining her senses a bit, Mina picked up the key and left the closet. She locked the door back up and ran upstairs where the other Scouts remained.  
  
The girls didn't even look up to notice Minako's return, for they were too busy trying on expensive hats to even notice her earlier departure. Their lack of observation was for the better, Mina was shaken to the core by what she saw.  
  
"How could a little cat be behind that monstrosity?" she asked herself.  
  
The disturbed girl just then remembered the key she had dropped earlier. Looking at it now, Mina's heart sunk, the key was stained with blood! She went to the kitchen to try and scrub the key clean, but to no avail. The key must have been enchanted because no matter what she used, Minako could not remove the key of it's stains.  
  
Artemis returned back that same evening explaining that he got a call on his cell phone informing him that the business he was to attend to had already been settled to his advantage. Mina tried to act happy to see him and like her normal, chipper self, but the stress she really felt was overwhelming.  
  
The next morning Artemis asked for his keys to be returned to him. Mina obliged and handed them back, but her hands were trembling so much when she gave them to Artemis that it was hard for the cat not to be suspicious.  
  
Artemis looked at the keys Minako provided him, "Why isn't the small key to the closet here with the others?"  
  
Mina stopped breathing, "I must have left it upstairs in one of the guest rooms."  
  
She looked away from Artemis' knowing glare, "My sister's and I were looking at some of your collections yesterday."  
  
Artemis licked the back of his front paw and began to groom himself, "Well why don't you go get it for me?"  
  
After much delay and many excuses, Minako was finally made to go fetch the problematic key. She brought it back to Artemis and laid it down before him.  
  
The cat stared down at the key for some time without speaking. Mina also stared at the key, willing the stains to disappear. A few more seconds passed and the key remained the same horrid red color it had been before.  
  
"Why did you go into that hall closet?"  
  
Minako was on the brink of tears, "I didn't."  
  
A furry, white paw moved towards Mina menacingly, "I warned you not to go in there. I warned you, Minako!"  
  
The cat's roaring voice was all Mina could take. She collapsed on the floor weeping and begging for Artemis' forgiveness.  
  
Artemis' voice went very cold, "It's too late now. What's done is done. You must come with me now."  
  
He began to walk out of the room, but Mina remained on the wooden floor, "Please, Artemis! Please just let me have a little time to myself first. Don't kill me yet!"  
  
The cat stopped and turned around, his face now very solemn, "You are acting like a fool."  
  
"Please, husband!" Minako screamed.  
  
Artemis continued to exit the room, "Five minutes, but if you haven't joined me downstairs by then, I will have to come get you."  
  
He left Mina alone in the room to panic. She quickly grabbed the nearest phone and dialed the number to the Scout residence.  
  
Her sister Ami answered on the third ring, "Oh, Ami! I'm, in such trouble! Can you call Usagi's cell and tell her to seriously haul ass over here? She and Luna were supposed to visit me today. Tell her it's an emergency! Artemis is going to kill me!"  
  
Mina nervously paced the room waiting for Usagi and her cat to arrive. She called the scout manor again, but no one answered.  
  
Artemis started yelling for his wife to come downstairs. Minako ignored him and continued to pace the room.  
  
"Mina!" Artemis had a very powerful bellow for a cat. The whole house shook with his booming voice. "Do I have to come up and get you?"  
  
Mina gave out a helpless cry and headed towards her impending doom.  
  
Artemis barely had enough time to see Mina enter the downstairs room when Usagi and Luna barged through the front doors.  
  
"Stop right there, cat!" Usagi commanded. "No one tries to hurt a Sailor Scout and gets away with it!"  
  
Luna pounced on Artemis and clawed him until he stopped moving.  
  
"What's going on here?" Ami and Mina's other two sisters ran up from behind Usagi.  
  
Mina told the girls about the events of the past two days and showed them the key to Artemis' closet. Ami examined the key as they all walked down the narrow hallway leading to the closet door. Ami put the key in the lock and turned the handle. All five Scouts held their breath.  
  
"Let me just turn on this light switch," Ami said reaching inside the doorway.  
  
"Light switch?" Mina asked herself.  
  
Soon a series of red Christmas lights hanging from the ceiling flickered on, and all the girls saw exactly what was inside. Enormous shelves jammed with video tapes lined the back wall, and hanging upside down on the right and left side walls were life sized blow up dolls with wigs.  
  
"Wow, look at the floor!" Usagi cried.  
  
All the girls looked down at their feet. Beneath them was red plexiglass flooring.  
  
"It's like a mirror," one of Minako's other sisters exclaimed.  
  
Ami grabbed a tape from the back shelf, "These shelves are all full of corny horror movies."  
  
Usagi's mouth was wide open as she surveyed the room, "What a freaky hobby."  
  
This was all too much for Mina, "What about the key, Ami?"  
  
Ami held the key up towards the ceiling lights, "I was looking at it on the way in here and it just seems to be an ordinary key cut out of a red colored metal. Are you sure it wasn't always this color Mina?"  
  
All eyes were on Minako, "I didn't really pay much attention to it until I dropped it in here yesterday."  
  
"Well there you go," Usagi chipped in, happy to see the situation turn out harmless.  
  
"Yeah," another Scout added, "Artemis isn't a killer, he just has bad taste in movies."  
  
"A pretty fucked up obsession," Mina muttered. "My nerves just can't take this kind of thing."  
  
Luna shook her head, "And to think of how I attacked Artemis out there."  
  
"Well he was going to kill me!" Minako shrieked.  
  
Ami looked at her with exasperation, "Kill you with what? His stinky breath?"  
  
The other girls giggled.  
  
"His loud meows?"  
  
More giggles.  
  
"His awful, psychotic personality, that's what!" Minako retorted.  
  
Her sisters patted her back, "He was probably just embarrassed about his horror flick obsession- that's all."  
  
Luna looked around the room some more, "It's almost admirable the way he dedicates himself to what he's interested in."  
  
"What?!"  
  
So the Scouts took Artemis to a local doctor (he refused veterinary services) and was given some ointment for his wounds. He had never been attacked before and was quite surprised that a dainty female cat could inflict such wounds.  
  
Artemis began to admire Luna's feisty self and soon found himself to be surprisingly enamored with her! Since Minako divorced him sooner than she took her next breath, Artemis invited Luna over for a private party and Usagi hasn't seen Luna step foot in the Sailor Scout's home since.  
  
Mina currently refuses to admit she was ever married to a cat and is seeking to destroy all evidence that would suggest otherwise.  
  
-The End- 


End file.
